Another awful D.J. prank.... not even a prank, just plain cruelty: calling Darryl Kile's widow on-air and asking if she has a date to Thursday night's playoff game. Funny, eh?posted by adrober (22 comments total)

Amazing... I've never heard of "yahoo.com". Has anyone? What a wonderful find! Thank you for posting a link to "yahoo.com"!

And it's a news link! Apparently this "yahoo.com" offers news! Who knew? Good thing you posted it to MeFi, because otherwise we wouldn't know where to find a news story!

And as for the subject of this story, gosh, isn't it awful? Boy, good thing you're not spreading this awfulness around!posted by George_Spiggott at 1:58 PM on October 5, 2002

so, ANYWAY, DJs just really need to stick to those Clear Channel playlists and quit with the willy nilly tomfoolery. A real rebel in the booth would do something neat like lock the door and play whatever he wants, and not stoop to stupid unfunny shit like this.

I'm not going to complain that this stunt was offensive, but the idea wasn't humorous in the least bit. Good shock jocks are funny.posted by Stan Chin at 2:04 PM on October 5, 2002

Jeeez George_Spiggott!! No need to be mean and sarcastic.

Although this is yet another news story, there actually might be some interesting discussions about it.

Regarding the story. I wonder how on earth they imagined this would be funny?posted by einarorn at 2:08 PM on October 5, 2002

Good shock jocks are funny.

No kidding. I heard about this on the radio the other day and had to wonder what exactly is going through the guy's mind. Sometimes when somebody makes a really bad joke, you can see what he/she was trying to do. In this case, ummmm, no.

George: Aside from the fact that we've been asked not to act like jackasses when somebody posts a news thread, that would have been an embarrassing way to go about handling the situation. There's no excuse to be a jerk and lack civility just because you're on the 'net. Now let's discuss the topic at hand and if Matt decides it's not worth discussing, he'll axe it. That's that.posted by The God Complex at 2:13 PM on October 5, 2002

I suppose that was excessive, sorry. But given the unbelievable flamewars over "NewsFilter" postings this week, I would think that people might be a little restrained about linking news headlines.posted by George_Spiggott at 2:14 PM on October 5, 2002

George: No need to apologize. This is the worst post since the Streisand one. I don't know why Matt's so slow on the draw these days -- probably busy with more important things -- but (pace The God Complex) in his absence the community has every right to try to enforce standards by tossing verbal eggs. If every one of these inane posts gets nothing but "discussing the topic at hand," people will feel it's OK to post them, and... ah, we've been all over this. Anyway, no need to apologize.posted by languagehat at 2:22 PM on October 5, 2002

"No kidding. I heard about this on the radio the other day and had to wonder what exactly is going through the guy's mind. Sometimes when somebody makes a really bad joke, you can see what he/she was trying to do. In this case, ummmm, no."

I know exactly what was going through his mind: Ratings.

The only sin in the shock-jock catechism is to be boring. Funny gets good; sensational is good; outrageous is good.

This story about a pathetic prank that resulted in a lawsuit this past June reports the FCC requires a radio station to "inform a person of the intention to broadcast or simulcast a telephone conversation before doing so." How many times have you heard stations violate that one? How many times do they pay a penalty?posted by mediareport at 2:53 PM on October 5, 2002

being new around here, i'm not sure what the hubub is about news stories. i mean, yes, we all know where news.google.com is and that covers most of it, and i agree that we don't really need to spread the word about stupid, bad pranks.....but every once in a while we all miss a news story that's interesting. so, is it a faux pas on metafilter to post news stories? the posting guidelines that i read are vague enough that i didn't realize the news was strictly taboo. please inform, as i want to be a very very good boy and not have a spiggot at my throat when i postposted by alpha60 at 3:10 PM on October 5, 2002

One of the greatest things about the internet is that sarcasm is a totally impotent tool of argument within its confines. And long may that last.
As for the news story, thank god i live in a country where Joe Duffy is the most controversial thing on radioposted by Celery at 3:38 PM on October 5, 2002

thanks media
i didn't read the whole thing
(democracy is so word consuming!)
but i think i understand the sentiments expressed
and generally agree that
1. non-mainstream media is more interesting than mainstream media
2. non news items are deeper, more lasting, and more human than news articles

so i guess i agree with g spiggot in theory
even if i find his manners to be a bit subhumanposted by alpha60 at 3:47 PM on October 5, 2002

George Spiggot and languagehat: famous the world over for their innovative and brilliant offerings to cyberworld. Please teach us, guide us and inform us. Where would we be without the wit and wisdom of the likes of you pair.posted by Fat Buddha at 4:13 PM on October 5, 2002

I know exactly what was going through his mind: Ratings.

Maybe, although I don't know too many people I'd care to drink with, who would find this entertaining. But if we don't like jagoffs like this guy, that's the way to get rid of 'em--stop listening and they'll be gone in a flash.

Good shock jocks are funny.

Sometimes. Then there's now. This isn't irreverent humor to deflate pomposity like Don Imus or even just fun gross out humor like Howard Stern. This is just mean,like giving the schoolyard bully a microphone. I hope Kile's widow sues him into the poorhouse.posted by jonmc at 4:50 PM on October 5, 2002

This incident reminded me of a very bad experience (the DJ's prank story-- not the Meta self-policing story.)

On the worst day of my life, I answered a telemarketer's phone call. In a daze, I told him that I couldn't answer his questions right now because I had just gotten home from my son's memorial service. The man proceeded to mock me. Incapable of thought, I wordlessly handed the phone over to my mother.

I hope this gets lots of publicity, so that other shock jocks might think twice about preying on grieving people-- not because I think they can develop any empathy, but hopefully they will fear losing their jobs.posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:50 PM on October 5, 2002

That's pretty damn low. Tasteless humour, if done properly, doesn't hurt anyone. But there are lines. This jackass crossed it. Someone has lost their husband, and this guy's cracking wise about going out with her. I can find humour is some pretty depraved things, but this guy is just cruel...

I hope this guy gets fired, sued, and whatever else the law allows for. No one deserves to be pushed around like that, especially for something as trivial as ratings.posted by Dark Messiah at 5:09 PM on October 5, 2002

That's the worst thing about the post. The guys aren't getting fired. If I am a local listener, I would be boycotting the station, the advertisers, and making my voice heard.posted by Coop at 6:27 PM on October 5, 2002

If anyone believes these sort of stunts are pulled merely for ratings, I'm afraid they need to understand a lot more about "drive time" formats.

Ratings and ad revenue are important, but it's feedback that's also a jock's (or producer's) best friend. If numbers are down, but the phones are lit up, the logged calls can be considered a saving grace in a few (but not all) instances.

A lot of times, feedback brings on a rush similar to gambling; if you've been broadcasting in an area for some time, you can gauge the threshold of the audience's reactions, and then fall upon your reputation and listenership to push the envelope further. If any material can be found offensive by anyone tuning in, but in a way which can be (largely) dismissed as schoolyard humor and not as defamatory, that's a (mild) feedback grab. Should an issue be made of the level of humor, many djs fall upon the crutch of believing "if you make fun of everyone, you're not singling out a particular group". Should a large number of callers provide compliments for "the balls needed to try such a gag", then you can be sure it'll be attempted again on a larger scale during a slow week.

In drive time, any session starting with a limited number of one-liners
is a slow week.posted by Smart Dalek at 6:46 PM on October 5, 2002

Sad, sad, sad. Good reason not to listen to radio any more... hope these people die out. (Like Spiggot, for instance. I hope people like him die out.)

I think it's interesting that you can get away with almost anything on the air these days. Wasn't it just a few years ago that the FCC gave DJs the ability to cuss on the air without having to Bleep it out?posted by SpecialK at 8:48 PM on October 5, 2002

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